There is a sizable difference between a business that offers a product and one that offers a service. As you say there is no way to get a gourmet meal at a Wendys as that it something that is not on the menu. However with a business like MAACO I think that it would be possible to get a very good show quality job out of at least some of there locations. But these are things that would need to be investigated before commiting to allowing any shop to work on your car.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
Bingo, we have a winner.
I guess not being intimately familiar with the business model I would have to leave myself open to that possibility. But I have to remain fairly skeptical since I still believe Maaco would have a somewhat heavy hand in dictating the way their service is performed and what can be charged for it. If an individual owner has free reign you have to wonder why in the world someone would take on the expense of owning a franchise. It’s not like they’re McDonalds.
With any franchise, there is an economic model that drives the business. Maaco is based on volume more than quality; that’s why people who do their own prep are more likely to get a satisfactory result. So I tend to agree with Al. The model (and franchise fees) are based on name recognition, brand positioning (low cost, fast turnaround), and national advertising to generate demand.
IMHO, no Maaco owner is going to make money when one paint job occupies the booth for days at a time. Where franchises are likely to differ in quality are things like the skill of the painter, the little bit of extra time they might allow for detail work, and (to the extent they have discretion) the quality of the materials they use. But it’s not where I would go if I wanted to be sure of the end result.
I’ll concede here that the possibility of finding a MAACO location that is both able and willing to provide a customer with a high quality paint job is slim. However I still believe that it is possible, just not highly likely. But there might be a location out there that is owned by a classic car enthusiast who would welcome the chance to show off the shops work. Maybe.
I don’t know how MAACO is set up, franchises or corporate owned shops. All one needs to do though is to watch Undercover Boss a few times to see how out of touch some corporate offices are with their franchisees and how business is being conducted at some locations. Of course that is if you believe in a TV show.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
A headhunter agency contacted me and I’ve twice been offered the opportunity to open a MAACO franchise in my town. They were going to set me up with financing and everything.
But I didn’t want to turn my hobby into a business because then I’d need to look for another hobby.
Good choise on that Mark 
not easy having Your work in the same line as your hobby, im Lucky in that way, as im working with big rigs, buses, small and big boats, and industry products (like parts for ships, oil industry etc)
I still get to do my high quality finish on the brand new trucks and trailers, and espesially the boat crowd and caravan/motorhome people is very picky.
But it`s hard to maintain the hobby in this line of work.
And having high volume and high quality on the work is mainly good planning and People working together, i work at a different shop some years ago, i held high quaity on my jobs, and still painted 85 cars per week, but then i was only spraying the Paint, and had 6 others to do the prep work for me.
Now some thoughts about the MAACO shops, there might be painters that is very good and do high quality work, but my thoughts about that is they do not last long within the MAACO system, as a very good and high quality painter do not settle to work and that franchise, as it would hold them back/down, they would not just og there and do just average jobs every day, or maybe if one had finacial problems, but it would only be for a while until something else came up, they would start there as a stepping stone on his/hers career.
So you can get lucky and find a MAACO With a great painter, and jackpot if it`s run by an vintage car enthusiast.
But i think you would have to search long and wide to find that
And a ok to decent paintjob at MAACO should in theory be able to achieve.